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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. hand — help
  5. fine — all right
  6. ground — crushed
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pound — a weight
  9. kid — child
  10. fine — high quality
  11. ground — the earth
  12. net — after costs
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. ground — a position
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. net — in sport
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. net — for catching
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. hide — animal skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com